Interludes and Encounters 2
by mondavis
Summary: A season 2, continuation of the story that started in season one, in which Commander Adama and President Roslin find themselves involved. WARNING: Contains SPOILERS for Season 2 through Home Part II.
1. Frissure

Interludes and Encounters 2  
Frissure

Disclaimer: All Battlestar Galactica characters and places belong to Moore, Larson and Universal and are used without permission.  
Pairing: Laura/Adama; Laura/Zarek  
Rating: Teen for language

Archive: Not without permission.

Spoilers: SECOND SEASON through "Resistance". This takes place after the episode but before "The Farm."

* * *

"Commander, you're receiving and incoming call, sir," CPO Dualla said urgently over the line. "Sir, it's the Pre – It's the _former_-President, sir. She's requesting that you go secure."

Bill Adama sat stiffly at his desk in his cabin, the phone clenched in his fist. "Put her through, Dee," he ground out. "And go secure."

"Yes, sir."

He wasn't all that surprised that she'd called. Given how she broke out of _Galactica's_ brig with Lee, he knew she had to have sympathizers among the crew. Someone would have leaked it to her that he was awake and out of the infirmary. Ferreting out the misguided (he refused to use the word "traitors"), however, was proving difficult as no one seemed to know a damned thing about anything when asked.

Tempering his voice, he spoke into the phone as soon as he heard the connection click live. "I suppose it would be too much to hope for that you'd be calling to turn yourself in."

There was silence on the other end for several seconds and just as he was wondering if the connection hadn't gone through after all, Laura Roslin's voice met his ear.

"I'm afraid that under the circumstances, Commander, yes, that is too much to hope for."

He nodded. "So why the call? You have to know we're tracing."

"Yes, I know. We'll be gone before you get here, though."

"We?" He paused. "Is that you and Lee?"

"Captain Apollo is with me, yes."

Adama nodded again, feeling pain in his chest and the pain brought a feeling of impotence, followed closely by anger.

"You shouldn't have escaped the brig. You've broken the fleet."

"_You_ broke the fleet when you deposed the civilian government," she returned coolly. "I take responsibility for a lot of things, but don't lay the consequences of your own actions at my door."

Now his anger raged through him, blocking the pain and sharpening his voice. "You illegally undermined the military command – "

"Commander," the President interjected, "I told Lt. Thrace the truth about a lie you told us all. Yes, I went behind your back. Yes, I talked to one of your soldiers. But since when is breaking a handshake agreement with you _illegal_?" She gave the slightest of pauses, then continued. "You, on the other hand, have staged a military coup and deposed the lawful civilian government of the Colonies. Your XO declared martial law and sent troops to raid civilian ships for supplies and when they didn't cooperate, four unarmed civilians were _murdered_. So tell me, is Colonel Tigh enjoying his stay in the brig as much as I enjoyed mine?"

"You know godsdamned well he's not in the brig."

"Yes, I do," Roslin said. "And I ask myself 'why not'? Regardless, Commander, that's not the reason for my call. Now that you're back in charge, I was hoping to appeal to your _patriotism_ that we spoke of not long ago and ask you to lift the imposition of martial law and reinstate the democratic government."

Adama's eyes narrowed. "Turn yourself in and we'll talk about it."

The dry chuckle that came over the line infuriated him. "If I find myself back in your brig, I know it would just be a matter of time before I suddenly become a Cylon and get blown out of an airlock." She paused. "Or shot to death in the corridor."

Lords, she _did_ have a lot of spies on his ship, Bill mused angrily. "You think I'm capable of that?" _After everything, _he wanted to add but stopped himself. Whatever he _thought_ he had with Laura Roslin was utterly irrelevant now. "Not everyone is like you, _Miss Roslin_," he said icily.

"I've never openly accused anyone of being something that they're not," she said somewhat dishonestly, but he didn't call her on it. Instead, he said, "But you were not above using sex to try to control me, either. I know that all politicians are whores," he added, his voice quiet and much calmer than he felt. "I just never suspected that it was literally true in your case."

Adama took some satisfaction in the fact that just before the silence on the other end of the line, he'd detected a sharp intake of breath. He'd said it to hurt her. He _wanted_ her to hurt, wanted the words to twist in her gut like Boomer's bullets twisted in his.

After a long moment, she did speak again. Her voice was even and quiet, unflappably calm and he hated her for it.

"I wouldn't expect you to think favorably of me right now, Bill, so go ahead and call me all the names you can think of." She sighed. "It's better than opening fire on civilian ships just because you're pissed that I'm not acting like a lovesick groupie after one night in your bed."

The glass of water impacted the door and shattered loudly and Adama grunted in pain, drawing harsh, ragged breaths.

"You'll hurt yourself," Laura murmured quietly.

"Don't act like you give a frak, you bitch," he snapped raggedly. "Is it that you're too stupid to understand what you've done or that you don't care?"

"Bitch," she breathed in a voice that, remarkably, actually sounded hurt. Tremulous. "Well, I guess it's better than whore, all things considered." He heard her clear her throat. "It's not what _I've_ done, Commander. As I said, if you can stand to, look into the mirror for the cause of our current problem. I'm asking you to work with me to make this right again, for all of our sakes."

"If that's true, turn yourself in."

"I can't."

"Bullshit. If you cared about the fleet – "

"If I cared about the fleet!" she all but screamed, her formerly calm voice cracking. "The fleet is _all_ I care about! You think I wanted this? The prophecies, the visions, the _cancer_ – this may be our only chance. We're running out of time ..."

Her voice trailed off at the last and though Tigh had filled him in on what she had told the Quorum, only now did it hit him that it was true. Laura Roslin was dying and according to Cottle, she had only four or five months left. Somewhere, through the shock and anger and hurt, he understood her urgency but her methods were something he would never, ever understand.

It had just been an old man's foolishness that made him think that he had really known anything about her at all.

There was a knock at his door and a young soldier entered carrying a note. The young man stepped carefully over the broken glass and water and handed the paper over. Adama took it and read.

He nodded to the soldier, who saluted and left quickly. Into the phone, the Commander said, "We've traced your location."

In his mind's eye, he would see her nodding knowingly. "No doubt," she returned in a soft voice. "I should be going then."

"I'll find you," he warned.

"You'll try." Her voice now sounded almost fond. "I'll call again when you're less angry and feeling better and maybe we can fix this."

"Turn yourself in."

She sighed. "Is there any message you wish me to convey to your son?"

Not expecting that, Adama paused for a long moment. He then said, "Tell him – tell him, he'll have to live with the side he chose," and with that, he hung up the phone.

* * *

"Well, that explains a lot."

Zarek noted with interest that Roslin didn't start or turn around at the sound of his voice. She simply pressed the button that terminated the call that had come through the small speaker. It was almost as if she had already known he was in the room and if that was so, he wondered why she'd chosen to go forward with her rather intimate conversation with the Commander. What was her angle?

"So the fleet is caught in the middle of a lovers' quarrel between you and Adama?" he pressed, walking slowly towards her. Still, she had not turned to face him. He wondered if she was ashamed. "But wait, you weren't exactly lovers, were you? I think I heard you say it was one night only." He continued his advance, smiling a little now. "I don't know why I'm surprised you slept with him." Stepping in close, he reached out and fingered her soft hair with his right hand. "You've proven yourself to be very pragmatic." He breathed the last into her hair as he pressed in close enough to feel the soft curves of her body. Zarek's grin grew as he felt her stiffen ever so slightly and draw in a breath. He let his left arm wind around her waist and pulled her firmly against him. It was a game, for sure, but he did have to admit that she did feel quite enticing pressed against him. The tiny bit of temptation made his heart beat a little faster and he wondered how far he could push this before she turned around and slapped him.

"So this is the price," Roslin murmured with a slight nod that brushed the back of her head against his chin. "And here I thought it was just political gain you were after."

He chuckled. "Oh, there's a lot of gain to be had in this situation."

Again she nodded. "Yes, I supposed there is."

And then she was turning within the band of his arms. Zarek braced him for the inevitable blow – the slap, punch to the gut or knee to the groin – and therefore was surprised when a small but strong hand clamped behind his neck and pulled him down. Before he could register fully what she was doing, the President's mouth crashed into his.

It took a full two seconds for him to unfreeze but by then, the kiss was totally engaged. Having instinctually responded, his tongue tangled with hers roughly and his teeth bit at her lips. Vaguely, he felt her short nails digging into the skin at the nape of his neck, her other fist clenched tightly around the lapel of his jacket. For two more seconds, he indulged in the feeling of having her in his arms, in his power.

But then the rational part of his brain kicked in and screamed _What the frak …!_

Using the hand that had somehow gotten tangled in her long hair, Zarek broke the kiss by pulling her away. He stared into her eyes with a surprise.

They were cold and dead like space. The only sign of what had just occurred was the swollen moistness of her lips and the bits of color standing high on her cheeks. Other than that, Laura Roslin looked like she could have just been arguing with him in the Quorum, instead of kissing him like a long lost lover.

Amusement welled within him and though they still stood in their embrace, he laughed. The expression on her face didn't change and he didn't really expect it to. If anything, he would have been disappointed if she'd reacted. This, after all, was a game and she had just showed that even with new rules, she could play it like a master.

"You would do this, wouldn't you?" he asked her somewhat unnecessarily.

Now, her green eyes narrowed a bit, crinkling the tiny lines around them. "As you say, I'm a pragmatist," she told him softly. Her breath was warm and moist when it washed across his lips as she spoke. They were still very, very close and he wondered why she had yet to step away.

Or why he hadn't.

"You should know," Roslin continued, "that I slept with William Adama because I wanted to. It was probably a mistake." Her eyes hardened again. "My sole interest is the safety and security of this fleet. Right now, you are in a position to help me achieve my purpose. If going to bed with you is the price for that help, then let's get on with it."

Zarek considered this with great interest. "You are a surprising, surprising woman," he said, stroking his hand through her hair. "I will never, ever underestimate you again." He leaned in again just enough for his lips to brush hers gently; then, he dropped his hands and stepped back. He noted that now it was her eyes that held some amusement.

"It seems Commander Adama wasn't that wrong about you," he commented drily.

And now she smiled, coldly but with a hint of sadness. She reached up and ran her thumb across his bottom lip, presumably removing traces of her lip gloss from his mouth.

"Haven't you heard, _Tom_," Roslin began as she stepped away and moved towards the door. "Commander Adama is _never_ wrong."

And then she was gone.

End?

* * *

A/N: No one is more surprised that I've taken this story up again than me. I'm still pissed at Adama - even more so, if I anything - but my little shipper heart just won't let this completely die. What's weird, though, is that I see some strangeness that could occur between Laura and Tom Zarek. Not necessarily a ship but some weird kind of game of "Frak You". Though Laura says her "sole purpose" is to find Earth, I think she needs something to keep her spark alive along the way, whether it be anger with Adama or playful anger with Zarek.

Anyway, I have no idea when the next one will be. That depends on if I have the time to write and if the mood strikes me and if I can finally finish reading Half-Blood Prince.

Take care. Monica.


	2. Goddess Complex

Interludes and Encounters 2  
Goddess Complex

Disclaimer: All Battlestar Galactica characters and places belong to Moore, Larson and Universal and are used without permission.  
Pairing: Laura/Adama, Zarek  
Rating: Teen, for language and violence  
Archive: Not without permission.  
Spoilers: SECOND SEASON through "Home Part 2".

* * *

"So what was the plan?" Commander Adama asked in what some would call a light tone, but to Tom Zarek sounded threatening all the same. 

After Roslin and the others had left the Tomb of Athena with their tale of a map in the stars and traveling to Earth, the group decided to head back down the mountain to set up camp for the night before starting back to Galleon Meadow. As they trekked back down the trail, they fell into groups. Roslin with her aide; Starbuck and Apollo; Chief Tyrol headed out first, just behind Helo and the Cylon. Zarek found himself pulling up the rear with Adama. Thus far, the man had been silent, for which Zarek was grateful. But then literally out of the blue, he posited this question.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Commander," Zarek said, knowing _exactly_ what the man meant. And he was also very much aware that with all of his men dead (oh yes, this planet demanded its cost in blood), that he was very much alone amongst enemies. A Cylon and the people who held the very authority he deeply wanted to possess. And _her_: the schoolteacher turned president turned prophet and as he looked up ahead at her now, with the diffuse sunlight firing her hair, she glowed with the power of achievement, of vindication and of righteousness. No longer just prophet, Laura Roslin would become a goddess. Of that, Thomas Zarek was sure.

He stripped off his jacket as the sun finally began to break through the clouds above and streamed fully through the trees.

"Your pal, Meier," the commander elaborated. His rifle was slung across his back but still within easy reach. "I take it the plan was to kill me, kill my son." His voice was pitched low but Tom could hear him through every cell of his being. "Who else? Starbuck? Helo? Everyone but her. Was that the plan?"

"Commander –"

Adama paused and turned to him, blue eyes dark with a rage that was just beneath the surface, despite the quiet rumble of his voice. Zarek halted as well and forced himself to look into those eyes.

"So then once she was all alone," Adama continued, "you'd turn on the charm and wait until she was so desperate and sick that she'd buy your line of bullshit. Was that the plan?"

Was it? Zarek wondered that himself. Before the great Zeus had returned, the plan had seemed sound. Not that he had wished death on the priest, but Elosha's sudden passing wrenched something loose in Laura Roslin. Up until that point he'd never seen the woman rattled, not once. But to see her on her knees weeping … it made him think that maybe it was possible to get closer and the closer he got, the more power he would have. But Apollo had been in the way. If not for Adama's son, Zarek would have been the one with his arms around her as she wept. It could have been him easily.

So, yes, the plan had been to isolate her and to claim her and to use the power she wielded.

But the opportunity was lost when he saw Roslin and Adama talking at camp. There was no screaming, no harsh words, no name calling between them this time. Instead, they sat close to one another, they smiled uncertainly at each other and just like that, the healing began. And this time, Zarek had a strong feeling that there would be nothing that could cleave Adama and Roslin's partnership in two again. Not with them both holding on so tightly.

His entire life he had lived with disappointments and lost opportunities. This was no different. There were always other chances. The election wasn't that far off and if there would be no popular ecclesiastical incumbent in the fray, he had a legitimate chance at victory. He'd waited in prison for 20 years. He could wait a few more months.

Zarek heaved a weary sigh and regarded Adama openly. "You have her back, Commander. Isn't that what you wanted?"

Adama narrowed his eyes and leaned forward menacingly. "Don't think I'll easily forget that you plotted to murder my son," he warned.

"Are you really pissed off for that or for the fact that she came to me when you turned against her?" Zarek deflected. And he supposed that some part of him was completely suicidal because he added, "Despite our differences, I've never treated her with disrespect, Commander. Can you say the same?"

Despite the rain, the ground was hard and Tom Zarek hit it with a sickening crunch. He rolled over and spat out a mouthful of blood and part of one of his teeth.

"What the hell is going on?" Laura Roslin said with alarm as she ran back to join them. She was followed by the others and Tom noted that no one seemed to care that he was lying on the ground bleeding at the feet of a very pissed off William Adama. _Guess I know my place,_ he thought bitterly and levered himself up.

"The commander and I were just talking about you," he said through his swelling lips. He took out a dirty rag and dabbed at his mouth.

Roslin abruptly turned to the others. "Can you all give us a moment, please?"

Apollo raised an eyebrow and looked from his father, who was still seething, to the president then gave a curt nod and led the rest of the group a good distance away. Once they were out of earshot, she turned on both men, gray eyes blazing in the sunlight.

"You both know better," she snapped with irritation. "I will not tolerate you behaving like ridiculous children because your pride is wounded," her eyes flicked to Zarek, "or your ego is bruised." That gaze now levered on the commander. "This is not the time or place. If you want to beat the crap out of each other, you can do it once we're on our way Earth. Until then, keep the testosterone under control, gentlemen."

Adama was still staring at Zarek with murder in his eyes, but he spoke to the president. "You should pick your friends more carefully," he cautioned.

Roslin raised an eyebrow in bemusement. "So I've been told," she murmured dryly. "Nevertheless, I'd like a moment of privacy with Mr. Zarek." When Adama opened his mouth to protest, she raised a hand. "I think we both know that he'd never harm me, Commander. He can't." She turned and met Zarek's eyes with a look of such utter certainty that he had to look away.

"Five minutes," Adama growled and marched away to join the others. Out of the corner of his eye, Zarek could see that he was still watching them.

"You should step carefully around Commander Adama," the president told him. She folded her arms across her chest. "Conspiring to murder his son wasn't the best way to raise you in his estimation." Her eyes hardened. "Or mine."

He could have protested or denied or blamed it all on poor, misguided Meier but there was no point. The one thing he did know and understand with conviction about Laura Roslin was that she was very, very smart. As soon as Meier and the Cylon pulled those guns, all of the pieces would have clicked into place.

On many levels, Tom felt rather stupid because he had thought he'd learned the lesson not to underestimate her.

"So you and the commander kissed and made up and now everything is back to normal?" he asked, his voice pitched low.

A slow smile spread across her lips and she tossed her head a bit to flick the hair out of her eyes. Here on Kobol, out in the wild of the forest, she looked much less the part of president as he'd ever seen her. She belonged to this place somehow. The Goddess of Kobol. All-knowing, all-powerful and completely out of his reach. And Zarek found himself mourning for something he hadn't known he wanted and now would never have.

"You've got a card to play," Roslin said smoothly. She leaned back against the tree behind her and regarded him through her lashes.

Zarek adopted a similar posture against his own tree. "Yes, I do."

"But you won't play it." It wasn't a question. From her mouth, it was part edict, part fact.

He nodded. "There's no point." And that was the absolute truth. Once she returned to the fleet with the direction of Earth and Commander Adama's support, Laura Roslin would be unshakeable in her power. Even the naysayers would have to acknowledge that she had been right about a great many things. Knowledge of her little fling with Adama would drown under that swell of hope. In fact, he suspected that some would even welcome the news.

And she knew that, of course. He could see it all over her face right now. She wasn't being smug, he had to admit. She was just incredibly certain.

She was every inch the all-knowing goddess.

"Can I ask you something?" he inquired.

She nodded her consent.

"Would it have worked?"

Laura's smile was oblique. "Kobol is an interesting place," she said glancing at the trees around her. She looked back up at the Gates of Hera. "It keeps a lot of secrets, so I suppose I could tell you one." She looked back at him and Tom fought to control his pounding heart. "No."

He lifted an eyebrow. "No?"

She shrugged and pushed away from the tree. "Tom, what were you hoping for? That I'd fall for your lies or fall _for you_?" She didn't stop to wait for his answer. "It wouldn't have worked because for all the charm and all the charisma and for the fact that I truly believe that you believe that you want what is best for our people, as long as I am alive and as long as _he_ is alive, it will always be between us. And even after I'm gone, I know that he will protect what we have preserved together."

Zarek shook his head, not quite believing what he was hearing. "You still trust him that much? He sent _Marines_ after you and locked you up like an animal and you still trust him?"

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "Yes, I do." Her eyes found Commander Adama as he stood with the rest of the group. "I trust him with what's left of my life and more importantly, Tom, I trust him with yours."

Zarek frowned and sighed. He had no doubt that this woman would fight down to her dying breath to keep him from having any real power but she handed Adama, her jailer, the entire fleet on platter. Whatever it was between them, Zarek was sure he would never understand it. He suspected it was foolish to even try.

"Shall we?" he asked, nodding toward the group.

The goddess gave him another half-smile and said, "Yes; it's time to go home."

* * *

A/N: Okay, I really needed to wrap up the Zarek stuff from the last story because I'm anal like that and didn't want to leave it hanging. I'm sure, though, he'll be back to stir the shit again at some point. Maybe after the Pegasus fallout has settled. I like the character of Zarek and Richard Hatch has grown on me in the role, so I do hope he's back on the show. If anything, his presence can push Adama and Roslin even closer together. 

Regarding the title, my husband asked "Is that Goddess COMplex or Goddess comPLEX?" I've decided that it's both.

Because I needed to wrap that up, I ended up splitting this into two stories covering the time between "Home Part 2" and "Final Cut." Something New brings us back on point.


	3. Something New

Title: Interludes & Encounters 2: Something New  
Characters: Adama/Roslin.  
Rating: T  
A/N: SPOILERS for BSG Season 2, through Home Part 2.

All Battlestar Galactica characters and places belong to Moore, Larson and Universal and are used without permission.

* * *

It had been a long time, Laura noted, since she'd been in William Adama's quarters. She couldn't help but smile that it looked pretty much the same as it did the last time she was here. She froze and her eyes involuntarily flicked to his bunk. The last time she was in this room, they'd made love on that bed. 

She felt her cheeks color. They had not come here to talk about _that_. They would have to one day address it – and all the bitternss that had followed – but not today.

"I wanted to thank you," Laura said quietly.

Bill looked at her briefly, then nodded and set about ridding himself of his uncomfortable dress uniform jacket. Laura knew she didn't need to elaborate nor would he want her to. She enjoyed this new level of understanding between them since in the past so many words had gotten in the way.

"I think we will need a similar display in front of the Quorum and the press tomorrow," he said as his fingers unfastened his buttons.

Laura nodded. "Yes. There will be some distrust. They'll want some type of reassurance that what happened -"

"It'll never happen again," he interjected.

Laura paused, accepting that,for his part, he believed that was true. But she, probably more than anyone left alive, understood that sometimes circumstances overrode conviction. He knew that, too, but for right now, if it made things better to ride on that faith, she would go with it. This was, after all, William Adama. There were things that if he wanted, he could make it so and this may well be one of them.

So she nodded and said, "We'll go together. They will understand that you and I act as one entity now."

"Do we?" His voice was as measured as he could make it, she supposed. He finished with the buttons but didn't remove the jacket. Perhaps he thought that given their history, actually removing any clothing was a bad idea.

"Isn't that what you just told your crew?" she shot back with a small smile. When he returned it with an acknowledging nod, she finally relaxed. Laura sank onto the sofa, her body remembering how comfortable it was. "The slow clap, Bill? Really," she admonished playfully.

He laughed outright and it nearly broke her heart at how welcome the sound was to her ears. It had been too long.

"Worked, didn't it?" he said sinking down next to her. He groaned a little with the effort and Laura stared at him with admiration. He'd been shot in the chest, cut open and nearly died and yet he'd still come after them. After _her_. The power of his physical endurance surprised her even more than his determination. Granted she was dying of cancer but trekking through the woods and up and down the ridges of Kobol had drained her to the point of numbing exhaustion. She couldn't imagine how he managed it so soon after major trauma.

"Would you like a drink?" he offered.

She shook her head. "I shouldn't. Tired as I am, the alcohol would put me completely out," she admitted. "Besides, Major Cottle would not be pleased with me drinking –"

Her voice trailed off and for a moment, they stared at each other. It was something else they had yet to talk about and she fervently hoped that he didn't want to get into it at this moment. She didn't have the strength to talk about it, not with him, not right now. Maybe not ever, though she seriously doubted that he'd tolerate that.

Bill nodded to her once and she was grateful. But he was giving her a look that spoke volumes: _Later_. She sighed. He had said that, hadn't he? So long ago that she could barely remember, when his voice had come over the phone telling her that one day she would have to tell him the truth. He'd used her given name then, for the first time, and it had come out easily, familiar as if it was how he had addressed her since the day they met.

The day the world ended.

On Kobol, the world where all of their lives began, he'd used her name again. And even though he had been presenting her with the forgiveness she hadn't asked for, she did see that he was offering something else: a chance to start over and to do it better this time. She had asked him for that at a time when he wasn't willing to give it and he had offered it to her at a time when she hadn't expected it. But with those four words – _Laura, I forgive you _– he'd opened the doors between them. And though she'd bristled defensively at his presumptuousness, Laura had been glad, _glad_ that they were finally at the same place.

She looked around. They really were in the same place. It was familiar to both of them now. In this room, they had flirted and argued and relented and loved. It was probably foolish for either of them to consider it neutral territory or to even try to start something new when the memories of the old were still so very fresh.

As it was, Laura could not even glance in the direction of the bed without being assaulted with vivid memories of how he had tasted and smelled and felt.

Something must have passed across her face because his own eyes flicked towards that damning rack. Laura reasoned that she'd have to work on her control. It had been battered badly on Kobol. Before going down there, he was never able to read her that easily.

"Hard to forget, isn't it?" he rumbled softly. He had settled into the corner of the sofa, lounging back against the buttery leather cushions much the way he had against the hard tree trunks on Kobol. Outwardly, he looked relaxed and comfortable, but Laura could tell, as she had on the planet that he was as uneasy as she was. His hands were twitching ever so slightly and his seemly languid posture was tense and wary.

"Do you want to?" she found herself asking.

There was a brief flare in his eyes before they narrowed down to slits. "Are you sure you want to ask that?"

Laura shook her head and laughed nervously. "No," she breathed. "But I will ask anyway. Do you want to forget it?"

He stared at her for a long moment and she could see his answer unconcealed in his eyes. The turmoil she found there belied the steadiness in his voice. Perhaps he needed to work on his control as well.

"No, I don't want to forget." He sat up fully and demanded her entire attention. "But I think we should."

It had been one of the hardest things Bill Adama had ever had to say. Now, with all the cards on the table, they had a clean slate from which to start over. Yeah, it had been put together from the mess they'd made of things, but now they had a chance to do it right and to carry the fleet together, instead of the separate loads that were breaking them both to the ground. He had meant what he said before going back to Kobol. They had come back together and they were going to stay together.

But the thing between them could be an obstacle. Adama knew his own feelings and down there on Kobol, when he'd seen her that first time over Lee's shoulder. He'd wanted to fold her into his arms. Despite the hurt and the betrayal and anger, he still felt the same and it had hit him like a kick to the chest just at the sight of her.

She was his President. She might never again be his lover, but she still very much his love.

He could deal with that for as long as she lived. And very likely for the rest of _his._

The tears that slid from her eyes surprised them both and when she did not wipe them away, he lifted a caring hand and banished them with a gentle brush of the back of his fingers.

She closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry for what I said on the phone," he whispered, his fingers still ghosting over her face. That was very true. He was a man who didn't dwell on regrets or second-guess himself often but he'd begun to hate himself for intentionally twisting what had been special between them into a weapon that hurt her.

Eyes still closed, she nodded. "I knew you didn't mean it."

He smiled with relief, glad that she didn't see it. Still, Adama's hand slid into her hair and he pulled her close. Laura gasped as his other arm slid around her back and his thumb tilted her chin up slightly.

"I – I thought we were going to forget –"

The commander shushed her quiet with a thumb over her lips. "We are," he assured her. "This is something new."

He kissed her cheek tenderly and continued to hold her until she relaxed with one huge sigh and wound her arms around his back. She turned her head outward and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

"I'm so glad you didn't die," she murmured.

Bill chuckled and squeezed her a little. "Me, too."

He could feel her smile against his shoulder. But then he also felt it fade.

"You know I'm going to." Laura's voice was barely a whisper.

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm glad you know."

"I'm not." It had slipped out as a fierce growl of anger. Not at her, he hoped she understood. He let her go when she pulled back to look at his face.

Laura's eyes were wide and full of regrets.

"I'll stay as long as I can," she promised and he believed her because there was nothing else to do.

They sat and stared at each other for a long, long moment until she leaned in and kissed his cheek. He inhaled deeply and didn't watch her as she left.

But he did smile. She still smelled like flowers.

End.

* * *

A/N: Whoa boy, am I back on this ship or what? I admit it … I've got some Adama love coming back (especially after "Pegasus"). I just hope they can do this right this time. 


End file.
